# Samuel Gawith - Squadron Leader



## Desertlifter (Feb 22, 2011)

Pardon the perennial piping perambulation, but through catharsis one learns. This week's (so far) new to me 'baccy is Squadron Leader, thanks to jfserama and the noob pipe trade. I chose the SL because....I grabbed it from my box of tobacco. And I've wanted to.  This week is conference week at the school, which is exhausting - 13 hour days and lots of drama. Perfect excuse to fill and enjoy a pipe on the way to work. Anyway....

SL is mild on the nose before the burn, with subtle latakia notes and that's about it. I would note that this was a bit on the dry side (I think), although it felt fine in the hand. Still getting used to that with pipe tobacco. When I packed the pipe I found that the tobacco is very well cut for this purpose, and it went EASILY into the pipe - probably the easiest packing tobacco that I've tried thus far.

Lit the tobacco as usual, picked up a free cup of coffee at the chevron station, and I was off to work. SL didn't have a lot happening initially. Tobacco flavors and an almost maduro-like note on retrohale were both evident. Smoke was what I would term medium in thickness and quantity, and the pipe stayed lit very easily. This was also a very cool smoke. Perhaps an artifact of smoking tobacco that is a bit drier?

During the second third of this pipe things mellowed a bit and the tobacco flavor abated, allowing a bit of the latakia out to play. I would have liked a bit more of that at this point, but that is probably just my noob taste buds. What was more interesting was that as I slowed my smoking (exiting the freeway and getting onto a county road), I noted that as the smoke thinned a bit I was able to detect subtle citrus notes. I would call them more tangerine than orange or lemon, but it was nonetheless there. Sadly as I got into the final third of this smoke the citrus faded. It was an interesting segue during this otherwise cigar-like smoke. Not that it is a bad thing.

After I finished the smoke I checked the bottom of my pipe to remove the dottle. The tobacco was uniformly - and firmly - packed at the bottom of the bowl. I noted that the pipe had a bit more resistance while smoking it this time around, but it worked like a charm. The "like drinking through a straw" comparison that I have read about was a great comparison.

I don't honestly know if I would keep SL around in quantity, although I would certainly not turn it down. I enjoyed it and it was a good morning smoke, but it was a bit one-dimensional for my tastes. If one were looking for a tobacco that was easy to pack, cool to smoke, and familiar to cigar smokers new to pipes I would absolutely say give it a try.


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## Trout Langston (Dec 1, 2011)

Picked up a tin of this at smoke shop outside of Philly about a week ago. Agree with Desertlifter that there is an almost maduro-like quality to the initial smoke, a nice depth that I really enjoyed. The Latakia is far more subtle than, say, Balkan Sasieni, but I liked SL's balance.


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## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

Brian, I'm guessing you fell into pipe smoker quicksand. Once you get those great citrus notes, you start puffing more to get more of them, but they disappear. That's because a lot of smoke overwhelms the tobacco flavor. The slower you smoke, the more flavor you get. The harder you puff, the more smoke and less flavor you'll find. For that reason, Squadron Leader is better suited to sitting in a comfortable chair, contemplating the nature of the universe, not driving. Keep that in mind on your next bowl.


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## Stonedog (Mar 9, 2011)

I've found that, depending on the pipe, SL's latakia fades and an almost chewy sweetness will come through from the Virginias. Generally this requires a wider and deeper bowl and careful coaxing, but it is worth it. SL is definitely not a latakia bomb.


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## imperial Stout (Nov 21, 2008)

I'll have to try some when I get a chance - I've been hearing nothing but good things of this tobacco.


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## Desertlifter (Feb 22, 2011)

TommyTree said:


> Brian, I'm guessing you fell into pipe smoker quicksand. Once you get those great citrus notes, you start puffing more to get more of them, but they disappear. That's because a lot of smoke overwhelms the tobacco flavor. The slower you smoke, the more flavor you get. The harder you puff, the more smoke and less flavor you'll find. For that reason, Squadron Leader is better suited to sitting in a comfortable chair, contemplating the nature of the universe, not driving. Keep that in mind on your next bowl.


Tommy, you never fail to enlighten me - thanks as always. If someone would be so kind as to add some RG - I've already contributed to Mr. Tree's cause and can't throw more his way yet. This is exactly the kind of advice I want / need at this point.


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## Sherlocke (Nov 7, 2011)

TommyTree said:


> Brian, I'm guessing you fell into pipe smoker quicksand. Once you get those great citrus notes, you start puffing more to get more of them, but they disappear. That's because a lot of smoke overwhelms the tobacco flavor. The slower you smoke, the more flavor you get. The harder you puff, the more smoke and less flavor you'll find. For that reason, Squadron Leader is better suited to sitting in a comfortable chair, contemplating the nature of the universe, not driving. Keep that in mind on your next bowl.


I found this to be true as well. It lasts quite a while, and has a nice steady smoke right to the end.


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## Bent Stem (Nov 10, 2008)

Good advice here. SL is one of my favorites.


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